Truffles: A Gourmet Delight

Chocolate Truffles

Often referred to as "the Food of Kings," truffles are a gourmet delicacy with a long and storied history, dating back to the days of Julius Caesar in the early Roman Empire. Truffles have also played an important role in the dining habits of modern political leaders as well. For example, Urbani truffles were served at the White House for the inaugural dinners of presidents Richard F. Nixon and George W. Bush, Sr.

Many people mistakenly describe truffles as a type of mushroom, but this is incorrect. Classified as tubers, truffles grow underground and are harvested seasonally. There are four different types of truffles, each of which can be harvested at different types of the year.

Seasonal Truffle Availability

White truffles (available September 1 - December 31)

Black truffles (available January 16 - February 30)

Bianchetto truffles (available March 1 - March 30)

Summer truffles (available April 1 - August 30)

Both fresh truffles in season and preserved truffles have many uses. They are utilized by the finest chefs around the world, as well as by home cooks who enjoy preparing and eating fine gourmet cuisine. Both fresh truffles and a variety of truffle products are available from Urbani.com.

Truffle Products

Truffle Butter

Truffle Bon Bons (Chocolate)

Truffle Oil

Truffle Puree

Truffle Sauce

Truffle Fondue

White Truffle Honey

Whole Truffles

Cooking With Truffles

When cooking with truffles, it is important to keep in mind that they are very delicate and should be treated with care. Truffles are used in a wide variety of dishes, including of course chocolate truffles and salads, seafood entrees, meat marinades, and just about anything else you can imagine. For truffle recipe ideas, see Urbani.com.

For advice on choosing the best wine to go with your truffle dishes, whether you prepare them yourself or order them in a restaurant, see The Wine and Food Matcher, a free online wine selection tool provided by accredited sommelier Natalie MacLean, author of Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass.

Alternative Uses For Truffles

Many people use chocolate and vanilla truffle oils as home fragrances. They can be used in oil warmers, used to enhance the scent of a lit candle, and even sprinkled on the carpeting in your car to give it a pleasant natural scent.

Throughout history, many people have believed that truffles are a a powerful aphrodisiac.

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)

Google AdSense Host API

This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

Facebook Login

You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

Maven

This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)

We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.

Conversion Tracking Pixels

We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.

Statistics

Author Google Analytics

This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)

Comscore

ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)

Amazon Tracking Pixel

Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)